176 SOLDIER AND SPORTSMAN 



a similar setting on of the head ; when scrutinising 

 a yearling it is one of the most important points to 

 look for. Without breadth across the forehead, 

 depth and width of jaw, and wide nostrils typical 

 of the Arab, a horse is not likely to turn out a good 

 racer. This characteristic inherited by the thorough- 

 bred horse from Arab ancestors appears to be less 

 prevalent as the years go by. In India, where 

 climatic and ground conditions- are to be depended 

 upon, great store is put on the time test, which no 

 doubt under certain conditions is a reliable one. 



I remember discussing the subject with the late 

 General Beresford, father-in-law of Captain Harry 

 Greer, now known to the racing world as the 

 manager of the National Stud at Tully, County 

 Kildare. The General, with a long and successful 

 experience of Indian racing, was indeed a man to 

 listen to. He was a great believer in running 

 horses in blinkers. As a proof of satisfactory 

 results, he used to declare it would frequently 

 happen that a horse, say 14*2 hands, that could 

 always be relied on to gallop half-a-mile in sixty 

 seconds would be beaten by a bigger and longer- 

 striding horse which, in his gallop against the clock, 

 would take many seconds longer to compass the 

 same distance. General Beresford's explanation of 

 this was that by reason of the smaller horse gallop- 

 ing stride for stride, unconsciously lengthening it to 



